My phone slipped yesterday, landing on the cement floor at work.  I’d never had a problem before, but this time I picked it up to find the glass had cracked.  Dismayed, I immediately began to research whether or not that was covered in my warranty, and eventually found and article that gave me hope.  It talked about how Geniuses are now allowed to replace the screen in store, so there was hope of getting it done for free!  This was confirmed in a CNET article:

We’ve received reports from some readers who had success having their iPhones with cracked screens replaced free of charge by geniuses at the Apple Store, but don’t count on it.

I immediately booked an appointment at the closest Apple Store for after work.  The guy who helped me told me it would normally cost $199 AND it would void my warranty to get it replaced.  But lucky me, he was in a good mood and we had a good rapport going, so he decided to replace it for me for free.  🙂  It was a quick fix in the back, taking about 10 minutes.  I signed some paperwork and was out the door, brand new screen in tow.  Now I’m super paranoid about dropping it and I admire the smoothness of the glass all the more.

It’s a good thing I was able to get it fixed so easily (and for free)!  Otherwise, I would have spent much of my time running my finger along the cracks, which would have inevitably given me a cut eventually.  The top part where the cracking started is actually higher than the part with the cracks.  If it weren’t for that, I’d be ok with not fixing it, but it had become a bit of a hazard for someone like me who likes to fiddle with things.  I was lucky the cracking was in a rather unobtrusive place to begin with, and even luckier to have gotten the whole thing replaced!